Maybe It Wasn't A Good Wish
by TheEvilOverlordOfTheUniverse
Summary: Nicole has been a Harry Potter geek the moment she learned to read. She's finished all of the books and re-read them many times and she knows the spells by heart. But what if she's thrown into the world she's read so much about? She had three candles on her birthday cake. Three wishes for her birthday. Hopefully they all come true - or maybe she wished wrong.
1. Chapter One

**Ahahahahahahahahahahah first story don't be too mean but I'm open to criticism and yeah. Blah disclaimer blah.**

**And I hope this story isn't as bad as its summary - come on, just read this one chapter. Please.**

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**Chapter One**

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_I wish I was a wizard. _First candle blown out.

_I wish I could meet Harry Potter. _Second candle blown out – oh, I can hear my brother asking what I wished for. They're starting to sing the birthday song now.

_I wish that everything could have a happy ending. _Last candle flickering out of sight. Three more sparks…two more sparks…one more spark…_gone._

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"Brooks, Nicole," Mr Reed says in his normal monotonous voice.

"Here," I answer, accidentally pushing my glasses off with the hand I'm raising.

After putting my glasses back on, I stare hard at the people who had stifled their laughs, and they bolt upright. I always seem to have that sort of effect on people.

"Caldwell, Jane," Mr Reed calls out again, waiting for the 'Here' that would come from Jane. Nothing interesting happens. I sigh quietly to myself. _Boring. Boring. Boring. _All of the names after the next one he calls out (Chan, Wen Xian) go in one ear and out the other. I decide not to pay much attention to him.

After registration, English and Science rush past me. Today, for some reason, everything seems blurry and unclear. Recess arrives, and I hear my name being spoken by my only actual friend.

"Nicole!" Ellie calls cheerfully. "Go grab a wand-like stick and let's have a fake duel!"

I smile. Ellie is so carefree. I walk into my school's garden and reach the farthest point from the entrance, where Ellie and I hang out. As I dump my bag down on a bench, I spot a cool-looking stick. It's twisted slightly at the top in an intricate design and pointy at the end. It isn't too long nor too short.

I pick it up. It fits in my hand perfectly.

"What's that, Nicole? Find a stick?" Ellie asks, holding a skinny-looking branch of a nearby oak tree.

Ellie and I have been Harry Potter geeks ever since both of us finished the books. It had been about four years since The Deathly Hallows was published and Ellie and I had gone crazy over it.

We know all of the spells – everything from the commonly known ones, like Expelliarmus, to the way less commonly known ones, like Anapneo.

"Yup, and it looks really awesome," I reply happily as she marvels over my find. "Probably some kid who'd gone over to by one of those fake Harry Potter wands lost it and it ended up over here. Poor kid."

"Yeah, poor kid. It looks so real – hey, can I have it?" Ellie says.

I whack her playfully on the head with the toy wand.

"Nope. Finders-keepers."

Ellie gives me big puppy-dog eyes, which are very hard to resist. Ellie's actually quite pretty, with her typical American blonde-hair-blue-eyes complexion, in contrast to my carrot-red messy hair, dark green eyes and short stature.

"Fine. But if you ever find something else like that, give it to me," she said irritably.

I put the toy wand in my bag, not daring to use it in the garden in case I forget it here. I find a small twig and use that to pretend-duel Ellie.

"Mobiliarbus!"

"Expelliarmus!"

"Accio!"

"Hey, you can't do that without a wand!"

"I can do magic without a wand!"

"What? Impossible! You said you were a first year!"

"Well I'm just really talented!"

"Yeah right!"

We spend a long time yelling at each other. It's very enjoyable. Soon, the bell rings, and I realize it's time to go.

"What do you have?" I ask Ellie.

"French. You?"

"Ugh – Geography. See you in Music, then," I say, annoyed with our schedule. I hate most of the other people in the year. Or rather, they hate me.

I'm a very easy-to-hate person. It's just my personality. I tend to act a bit shy, quiet and sophisticated. It annoys everybody, and I know it does, but it's not like I can change that.

I walk into my classroom, dreading the hour-long torture. Ms Rowlands is a horribly evil teacher, and she hates me even more than the rest.

"Nicole, darling, please sit down. You're late. Lunch-time detention for ten minutes," she declares. I notice that there are only actually five other people currently in class and that according to her clock, I am eight minutes early.

"Um…Ms Rowlands, I'm not actually -"

"What a horrible girl! Resorting to using excuses, now, are we! Extra ten minutes detention now, darling," Ms Rowlands says, clicking her tongue at me.

Despite not really being liked in my year, the five people currently in the class give me very sympathetic looks. They've have also faced the wrath of Ms Rowlands. There are only six people in the entire school that haven't, as they are her favourite students.

All six are female (one of the reasons Ms Rowlands like them – she's very sexist), all six are bullies (the main reason Ms Rowlands like them), and all six are in my class. Their leader's name is Madison.

Twenty minutes into the class, Madison and the five other girls, Lucia, Annette, Charlotte, Olivia and Gracie, stalk haughtily into the classroom and sit down. Ms Rowlands doesn't even bat an eye at them.

"Could I go to the toilet quickly, Ms Rowlands?" I ask as politely as I can. I know Ms Rowlands will say yes.

"Thank you for asking, darling. I think the class is better off without your presence."

That's why she lets us go to the toilet.

As I close the door behind me, I hear Madison begin speaking. I pause outside the door, so that I can hear her.

"Can me and the girls go to the toilet too, Ms Rowlands?" she asks snobbishly, and I realize she's in the mood to annoy me. Unfortunately, Ms Rowlands probably realizes that too, and she approves.

"We'll miss you, girls," came the honey-coated reply.

I run to the girl's toilets, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping. As usual, they're walking very slowly, so I have a lot of time before they come.

_You came to the toilet to wash that toy wand, so just do it, _my brain tells me. I take out the wand.

Soon enough, I can hear Madison and her friends walking towards the toilets. The door is pushed open.

"Hey, Nicole – oh, is that a little toy you've got?" Lucia sneers from Madison's side.

"Yeah, it is, although I don't see why you care," I say, feeling bold today.

"Why do we care?" Olivia says in fake shock.

"Why, Nicole, dearie, me and the girls just _adore _little baby toys, don't we?" Madison continues.

I roll my eyes and continue washing it.

"Oh dear, Nicole, don't be a bully," Gracie says, pretending to be offended. I feel myself getting annoyed. "Let us have fun with the little toy too!"

Charlotte and Annette laugh sweetly and come closer. I know that they're going to pry the toy wand from my fingers and break it, being who they are.

I sigh deeply, which I've been doing a lot lately, and imagine that I am a wizard.

"_Avada Kedavra_,"I mutter, and repeat it six times.

_Flash. _

"Ah-aaaaah!"

_Flash. Flash._

"Wait -"

_Flash. Flash. Flash._

Suddenly, the room is silent. I gulp. What…what happened? In front of me are six bodies. They are all blonde and blue-eyed. One face is merely a sneer, as if it had been interrupted mid-sentence and was suddenly frozen. The rest are scared. Frightened.

_Why aren't they moving? _I wonder. _Why are they all lying down, frozen?_

Then it hits me. These six bodies are Madison and her friends. I just saw a flash of green light and I said the Killing Curse six times. That means…these are…

_Wait. _I think. _Wait, no. I'm not a wizard. I'm thinking too Harry Potter-ish thoughts. This was all…all…_

I can't explain it. Every explanation I have is unrealistic. Time stopping, random gas reactions, or…me being a wizard. None of them are realistic.

An idea has come into my head. _Test the wand out. You know every Harry Potter spell there is. Choose an easy one. Try it – _

_- No, no, Nicole. You're crazy. That's…that's just impossible. Do you have any idea how stupid you are? _said a small voice in my brain.

_It doesn't matter, it's worth a try! _I retort, and think of an easy spell.

After thinking of one, I lock the door of one of the toilet cells and hold the likely-to-be-a-toy wand. My hand is sweating, and I almost drop it a few times.

"_A-alohomora_," I stutter.

_Click. _The door opens.

I gulp, my head going in circles. I can only register a few facts:

A) I just killed six people.

B) The spell I used to kill them is illegal, and therefore I am on the Ministry's hit list.

C) Wish #1 came true…but in the wrong way.

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**Review, favorite, and follow. Actually you know what I'm happy if you just review. Yeah...review. Hope you didn't hate it, and I hope you didn't stop reading half way through. Or like, not even half way through. Or yeah. Yeah...yeah.**


	2. Chapter Two

**Um yeah haven't posted in a ****_looooooooong _****time...please don't hate me...TT^TT...by the way this is going to be a very short chapter so I'll be posting a new one ****_very _****soon. Like, in an hour or something. **

**And thanks a lot to everybody who reviewed, and followed, and favorited (is that a word?). I honestly did not expect this story to get much attention. So yay! **

**(There's also meant to be a disclaimer somewhere here, right? Just consider it already written.)**

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**Chapter Two**

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The door to Ms Rowland's classroom is now shut, and everybody is staring at me. One glare from me makes them flinch and stare back at the written work Ms Rowlands has set us.

Around ten minutes of me doodling on the written work later, I hear the loud rapping of Ms Rowlands' wooden stick on my desk. I look up at her sharp expression and stern eyes, and I know what she's going to say.

"Nicole, where are my girls?" she asks suspiciously. I gulp, and then tilt my head to the side and frown slightly, taking care not to break eye contact.

"Your girls – as in Madison and them? The only girl I saw in the toilets was a 8th Grader, Ms Rowlands. I don't think they were there," I said, thinking fast. I'm actually a pretty good actress, and I know I have the ability to convince Ms Rowlands that I haven't seen them.

Ms Rowlands frowns and walks away, leaving me to think.

_Okay. I probably don't have much time until the Ministry will come to question me – but wait, no. No, I'm not in the Harry Potter world –I mean, yes, I am, remember? Alohomora – maybe that was a coincidence, maybe it was just, like, the air or something – but I am, I am, I want_ _to be in it so badly!_

My brain whirls round in circles, arguing with itself. The only thing left to do is another wand-test. Something safer. Like, just summoning my unfinished Geography homework or something. Yes. Yes, why not.

I grasp the maybe-a-wand tightly but make sure nobody can see me holding it. I hold my breath.

"_Accio Geography homework," _I manage to mutter. Nothing happens. A minute passes. Still nothing. I exhale, half relieved and half disappointed. So I'm not a wizard after all.

_Ah yes, it's good that didn't work, because I forgot; people will probably see the homework floating around in the middle of the air, zooming towards me –_

- and all of my relief disappears as a white sheet of paper filled with messy scrawls appears in my hand that had zoomed in from the window right next to me. _Of course, my house pretty far away, it'll take some time for it to come in. Thank god I sit next to the window –_

My temporary happiness in understanding why it took so long dissolves as I realize the meaning behind the piece of paper grasped in my hand.

I am a wizard and the Ministry's coming to get me. I can't fight a Ministry, and I don't want to, either.

"Ms Rowlands can I use the toilet again I think I left my eraser there!" I say quickly, too stiff with shock to bother raising my hand.

"Yes, darling, of course. Get out of here and give us some peace," Ms Rowlands says irritably, waving me away.

I carefully stash the wand in my ginormous coat pocket, which already contained my cell phone and a pencil. _I have to escape somehow._

The door's hinges creak as I close the door behind me, and the hallway is dreadfully empty. I fast-walk down it, trying my best not to bump into any randomly opened locker doors. I slow down when I notice Ellie's French classroom, and look longingly into the classroom window for a second. I end up just biting my lip in frustration and continuing.

At the entrance to the school (which is currently still empty) I suddenly feel a laugh bubbling up in my throat.

The situation I'm in is so unrealistic. I'm escaping from my dreaded Geography class in fear of the Ministry of Magic (which I learnt about from a fiction series) because I just killed six people in the girl's toilets with a toy magic wand that I found in my school's garden.

I let out the stifled laugh, and consider going back to my classroom. The situation I'm in is just so fake, so ridiculous, and if it turns out I'm wrong about everything then I'll just look like an idiot to everybody.

_Everything's probably just a misunderstanding, _I think. _After thinking it through, there IS NO WAY that I'm…you know, a wizard or anything._

I take a step back towards my Geography class, but then pause. Four _things_ seem to be zooming down from the sky, headed towards my school. I look up, confused, and what I see makes me stifle a scream. Four _things _are indeed coming down from the sky_…_four brooms with cloaked people sitting on top of them and badges saying _Ministry of Magic_.

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**Yeah. Review.**


	3. Chapter Three

**Okay, so it was a ****_little _****bit more than an hour. Hey, only like thirty minutes over! But ya...sorry. **

**And thanks a lot for the reviews. :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D**

**Blah, disclaimer, blah.**

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**Chapter Three**

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The four people land silently in front of me, facing the direction my Geography class is in. I freeze. I am completely unable to move. Luckily, they don't seem to notice me, as they are facing away from me. They hastily cast disillusionment charms on each other to make themselves seem invisible.

I stay rooted to the spot, and watch as their shadows move down the empty hallway towards my Geography class.

_Okay. _I think. _I'm now past the realization stage of this magical stuff. No matter how crazy it sounds, I'm a wizard._

I try to make myself believe the thoughts that just ran through my head, and after repeating _I am a wizard _a few times in my head, I finally manage to.

After I accept the fact, I begin to run. _Pit, pat. Pit, pat. Pit, pat. _The sound of my shoes hitting the hard concrete underneath me echoes through the streets. Nobody's there to hear it, so nobody gets suspicious.

I don't know where I'm going and I don't actually know why I'm running. _I could just explain to them what really happened, _I think, but I automatically decide against it. _The Ministry isn't exactly forgiving, according to all the books I've read, and I don't have an honourable person like Dumbledore here to argue for me._

The hopelessness of my situation makes me feel like laughing again. I'm trying to escape the Ministry of Magic and I'm an eleven-year-old ordinary human – oh, I'd better start calling myself a muggle now, huh – who hasn't received a magical education.

I feel so, so stupid, but I still keep running. I trip a few times, but ignore any bits of peeled off skin because I'm used to it – I have a lot of scabs already.

After ten minutes, I get tired. I've ran past the tiny, empty road my school is on and entered a small park a few blocks away, but still there aren't many people around. There's one or two old couples sitting on benches, but they don't notice me.

I notice how sweaty I've become and how hot it is, and wonder how those Ministry people manage to wear those huge, heavy-looking capes of theirs. I hate summer despite the huge break from school you get.

_Ah, yes, summer break's coming up. It's the end of Term 3, isn't it? _I remember, feeling happy for a moment, and then realize the mess I'm in.

_Opposing the Ministry's one thing, but then I need to explain stuff to the school, to Ellie, to my family – ooh. _I wince thinking about my family. I'm not really on my family's good side – or bad side. I'm just the unfortunate _extra _child, after all. I've got four siblings, three brothers and one sister. My mom and dad tend to ignore me, except for on my birthdays.

I notice how little I've thought this out. I randomly ended up in the park after running away from the Ministry, who are probably on their way to get me, and I don't know how to continue from here, what to do.

Tears are welling up in my eyes. It finally dawns on me – I can't go back now that I've killed six people with spells I didn't know I could use, tried to evade the Ministry and now that I think about it, cast two illegal spells.

How am I supposed to explain this to anybody? How do I fix what I just did? I don't get it.

I yelp in surprise as I feel an old, wrinkly hand on my shoulder, then feel very embarrassed. I wipe my tears away and try to pretend that I am in the park in the middle of a school day for a perfectly good reason.

"What's going on with you, child?" a stern-sounding voice says. I look at the person whose hand is on my shoulder. It's a sharp-looking old lady dressed in very peculiar clothes. Not a wizard's cloak or anything, but still very strange clothes.

She isn't speaking unkindly, but I feel myself getting slightly intimidated by her. She is wearing black-rimmed glasses and her grey hair is tied back in a nice, neat bun. She doesn't have many wrinkles, but it's obvious that she's old.

"Looks like Professor McGonagall," I mutter under my breath. The old lady tilts her head to the side and looks surprised, which in turn surprises me. I didn't think she'd hear, and now it looks like she might think I'm a weirdo.

Instead of walking away, disturbed, she puts her finger to her lips and makes ferocious, angry shushing noises.

"Careful, child! There are muggles around here, you know! I thought you were one, too, until you muttered that. Now, where are your parents, and what are you doing here?" she says.

My eyes widen. This old lady is Professor McGonagall? Just randomly sitting here in a human – sorry, muggle – park?

I open my mouth, ready to speak, and I start thinking. _Hmm. Professor McGonagall might back me up when the Ministry catches me if I explain what happened, because she's got a pretty strong sense of justice. But if she doesn't – well, the Ministry's going to catch me anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter._

"I…um, I _am _a muggle, P-Professor McGonagall…" I stutter. The words 'Professor McGonagall' are so unfamiliar on my tongue. "And I'd like…your…um…advice on something."

Professor McGonagall freezes in a similar way that I did when I saw the Ministry. I know that the words _how do you know me _are on the tip of her tongue, but apparently she decides not to say them and instead nods and brings me down to sit on a bench farther away from any of the others.

I take a deep breath.

_Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale._

Then, I tell her everything.

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**Yay. I'm done. Phew. Review!**


	4. Chapter Four

**Fwaaaa so many reviews! :) And yes I do hope Nicole won't be that annoyingly perfect character who annoys the heck out of readers. So yeaaaaaah. Yeah. Read. Disclaimer for characters and settings and stuff.**

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**Chapter Four**

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Professor McGonagall is a very patient listener. Even when I make random mistakes in my grammar and decide to go back to correct them (which happens about every sentence) or trail off due to a passing butterfly, she looks as me like I'm a professional public speaker and pays attention to my every word.

"..and I ended up in a park, um, no, I mean in _this _park, sorry, and I really don't know what to do now, since I killed six persons – sorry, sorry, people, and…and, yeah. I think Ministry's, um, I mean, _the _Ministry's, coming after me even though it was an accident and I-I wanted to see if you could tell me what do – I mean, what I could do. Yeah…um…sorry," I finish as the embarrassed red flush fades out of my face.

Professor McGonagall purses her lips together and shakes her head.

"My, my, child, what a horrible situation you're in. Killed six people on your first day discovering magic? Two underage spells and the Ministry after you, too," she says matter-of-factly, as if she's used to muggles randomly killing six people in one day.

I sense confusion behind her stern face, and hold my breath as the questioning begins.

"So how do you know about the wizarding world, is there anybody else who knows about the wizarding world and where did you find the wand?" McGonagall asks.

The corners of my mouth twitch upwards as I explain the concept of Harry Potter fandoms to Professor McGonagall.

Her eyebrows rise higher and higher with every word I speak. I begin to get off track and am about to talk about the different ships in Harry Potter like the weird but lovable Hermione and Tom Riddle ship, but McGonagall cuts me off.

"I believe I have begun to understand this…this _thing_ you're talking about. I suppose the rumours about a witch publishing fiction books about Mr Potter were true…but where did you find the wand?" McGonagall persists.

I hesitate in answering her question.

"Um…in my school_'s _garden. I thought it was toy – I mean, I thought it was _a _toy…" I paused here due to a brightly-coloured caterpillar climbing up a lamp post. "Sorry, sorry, sorry. So I didn't pay attention to where I got it really – I-I mean, I didn't really pay attention to where I got it. I just… just sort of, um, took it."

I take the wand out of my coat pocket and nervously hand it to the professor. She takes it delicately and carefully examines it.

"My, this is a very old model indeed!" she exclaims, but she is interrupted by four loud thunks. I shiver. It must be the Ministry.

"Professor McGonagall, what are you doing here?" comes a voice. I'm guessing that it comes from the largest of the shadows.

"Goodness me, Mr Rivers, take off that horrible disillusionment charm. Ever since Professor Houle joined us I began to develop a hatred for them," McGonagall said irritably, staring hard at the large shadow.

The shadows look busy for a moment as they rummage around for their wands and sheepishly take off the charms. Suddenly, a fat man becomes visible. He waves his wand at a skinnier shadow, revealing a scrawny young woman, who waves her wand at the two remaining shadows, causing one handsome and one strict-looking man to appear.

I flinch as they look at me and look away. I know that even if I try to hide now, they would easily find my flaming red hair among the green trees behind me.

"Look, McGonagall," the scrawny woman says. "Six deaths in one day committed by the same person is really problematic, especially when it's a child who commits them. Then two spells she can't do because she's underage, too?"

I gulp, trying hard to resist the urge to run. _Come hide in me, come hide in me! _The trees seem to tell me.

"Well, I understand how important the deaths are – but, the person casting them was a mere muggle who didn't know the wizarding world existed," McGonagall says, and I am shocked. _She's standing up for me? _"Quite foolish, in my opinion, to send four Ministry wizards after one muggle girl who doesn't have a magical education!"

The Ministry wizards look uncomfortable now. They fiddle around with their hats and their capes, before the strict-looking man says:

"To be honest, Professor, we've been bored out of our minds lately. Nothing to do, you see. Then suddenly – six deaths committed by a _single_ _child! _Everybody wanted to go."

A laugh emerges from my mouth before I can try to prevent it. All of the Ministry wizards glare at me, and I feel like sinking into the ground with embarrassment.

"S-sorry. Um…c-continue," I say timidly, and then curse myself for acting like an idiot.

The park is silent for a short while, before the fat man continues.

"Anyway, McGonagall, we're taking the child away to be questioned before Mr Shacklebolt, so please let us take her."

McGonagall gives a short, impudent sniff and says: "Why, if no-one's to realize the foolishness of this matter, then I'll be the one defending her."

My heart misses a few beats. _McGonagall's defending me?_ I know that I'm meant to be feeling very ashamed of myself and what I've done, but I'm also just really excited.

_I killed six people I hated and now I'm a wizard! Ha-ha! Great deal! _I think gleefully, and then pinch myself hard as punishment, but it doesn't do much difference. I'm still resisting the urge to prance around happily and tell everyone the good news, and then maybe just blow up in hysterical excitement.

_Ha, every other Harry Potter fan around the world, _I think happily, feeling superior to everyone else. I'm _the one going to the Ministry, not you._

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**Oh no I just realized I haven't actually physically described Nicole...better go edit and update Chapter One.**


	5. Chapter Five

**I know, I know, it's been a long time, but no, I'm not dead. And please don't kill me before I post Chapter Six. Disclaimer and blah and blah. Yeah...by the way this is a pretty short chapter. Next one will be long, promise.**

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**Chapter Five**

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Disappointment is the first thing to hit me as I clamber onto the back of the scrawny woman's broomstick. It doesn't feel special or different when you kick off, it just makes your butt hurt.

Then the cold hits me. It flows through my entire body, and I struggle to keep my fingers warm while at the same time holding on tightly since we're so high up.

And lastly the air pressure. I can hardly breathe that high up in the sky, and what makes it worse is that the scrawny woman's cloak is blocking out most of my oxygen.

I hate flying, despite all of the dreams I've had of being a Seeker in the wizarding world. I sigh again.

After going through miles and miles of clouds and getting wetter and wetter by the minute, the brooms begin to swoop down. I can feel my stomach lurching and when we land, I feel like throwing up.

We land in front of a red phone booth, and I mentally hyperventilate. _The Ministry of Magic's entrance! _I scream in my head.

It's a sunny day, but I'm so wet from flying through all those clouds that I can barely feel the warmth. Shivering, I pull open the door and tell the scrawny woman:

"62442, right? H-hurry up, p-please."

The scrawny woman smirks at me.

"No, that's not the code. Did you really think that the witch who wrote the fiction series would reveal the real code to the whole world?" she says, and I feel shy and foolish again.

I watch as she puts her hand up to the phone and begins to dial a number. She tries to block it with her hand, but her hand is so freakishly bony that it doesn't really help.

_11037. _

I smile to myself and make sure that the number sticks in my memory. I become giddy with excitement when I feel the lift beginning to descend, and feel like puking rainbows when the door opens.

I manage three steps to get out of the lift, and then freeze with excitement. It's almost exactly like J.K Rowling's description, except it seems far less busy – only about one witch is walking down the hallway, and she isn't even in a hurry, which disappoints me a little bit, because I'd imagined the Ministry of Magic as a busy place for snobbish people like Percy, not a huge, empty room with one witch in it.

"Would you _move, _please?" the strict-looking man says.

I stutter a quick, quiet 'sorry' that I don't think he can even hear and walk hastily out of his way.

I find it kind of creepy in the Ministry. The footsteps have a creepy echo that makes it sound like somebody's following you, and everybody seems so tall – or at least, to a short person like me, they do.

Conversation at the Ministry is interesting, though. I'm happy to eavesdrop on the many different people there.

"…werewolf's gone crazy in Lithuania, you heard about that? No, I don't think…"

"…yes, that's what I've been _trying _to tell you this whole time! What? Oh, really? Okay…"

"…and Louise Massey asked out Bruce Greene right after she broke up with Daniel…"

"…yeah, Weasley's been, you know, sent to the Centaur office...I know, right? After all that…"

I almost freeze again. 'Sent to the Centaur office' is another term for being fired, according to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. And then, 'Weasley' would mean either Percy or Ron's dad…is fired? I decide I heard the speech wrong and try not to eavesdrop much more, so I sink into my thoughts.

_So I'm going to be questioned like Harry is in the Order of the Phoenix? _I wonder, ignoring the loud echoing of my footsteps. _Then what if the trial doesn't go well? I mean, this isn't a book, so I'm not ensured a happy ending, really, so I could, what, end up in Azkaban? Or – oh good lord I could end up in Azkaban. _

Suddenly, I'm scared. I didn't realize how incredibly bad the situation was for me before. I've got McGonagall with me, of course, but that's very little comfort. I could end up in Azkaban.

I become very fidgety. I hadn't thought about how positively _realistic _the Harry Potter world would be. I had expected it to be all nice happy endings because I'd read about that world through a fiction book. It probably isn't that nice, because it's just like the real world, no?

I begin eavesdropping again, to get my mind off all my thoughts.

"…and I heard that Newt Scamander's writing a fiction series describing his travels…"

"…what? Albus Dumbledore had a brother? I didn't know that…"

"…hurry up and finish those documents, or else Shacklebolt'll fire us…yeah, you know him…"

"…what's her name? Lily? Yeah, Potter's daughter is going to go to Hogwarts this year…"

_Wow, really? _I think, upon hearing those words. _Well, I'm just about old enough to be admitted to Hogwarts, and it's Term 3 right now, so maybe if I survive this trial I'll be able to go to Hogwarts and then I'll meet Lily…wow, again…_

Suddenly, the scrawny-looking woman in front of me stops, and I bump into her.

"S-sorry!" I say, embarrassed. The woman in front of me waves her hand to show it's okay, and opens the large doors in front of me. The Ministry wizards and McGonagall enter, and I know I'm supposed to enter after them, but for a moment, I can't.

_You can't avoid it either way, can you? _I tell myself strictly, and take a deep breath. Then I step through the doors.

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**Don't leave comments telling me that the trial's on the wrong floor or that I didn't describe much. Although both those comments are true...meh...I'll update within a week, and if I don't, you're free to kill me.**


	6. Chapter Six

**Hey...ah god this was a LOOOOOOONG chapter so be grateful. Eugh. Disclaimer and blah.**

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**Chapter Six**

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The doors slam shut behind me, and I flinch, causing some murmurs in the large crowd next to me.

_Wait…the large…c-crowd…next to me? _I realize, and tremble slightly. Around me are at least forty elderly people wearing cloaks, gawking at me and nudging each other. I feel very indignant. For someone who's just killed six people, run away from school and spent an hour or two freezing on a broomstick deprived of oxygen, I look pretty good.

But the most imposing figure there is a tall man with a medium-length beard dressed in sapphire-coloured robes, who I assume must be Kingsley Shacklebolt. I smile and let out a tiny giggle. While he isn't really one of my favourite characters, it's still really, really exciting to meet him.

_And then Hedwig dies in the Order of the Phoenix, and so does Mad-Eye moody, and Sirius, and then you know who else dies in the Harry Potter series? Fred Weasley, and the Creevey brothers, and yeah – you guessed it! DUMBLEDORE! _my brain yells at me, smirking, and I feel like crying due to intense fangirling, then rouse myself and try to focus on the fact that I might be stuck in Azkaban with Dementors for seventy years or something like that.

"Sit, Nicole Brooks!" Shacklebolt shouts at me in a commanding way. I uneasily sit down in the chair at the top of the room, trying not to fangirl too much over the fact that Harry Potter might've sat here.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! You have been selected as the jury in the matter of Nicole Brooks. Ms Brooks is charged with the murder of six children and eight illegal spells. She has –"

_"__Daddy!" _

I release the breath I realize I'd been holding, and then draw it back up in the form of a surprised gasp.

A short, strawberry-blonde mess of a girl is clinging to Shacklebolt, her long pigtails tangled obviously not brushed. She withdraws her arms and stares up at him with dark blue eyes, beaming, as the rest of the old people in the large, spacious chamber gape at her.

"A-Avery, just wait a moment, please, I'm in the middle of an important trial –"

"Yeah, I _know, _that's why I _came, _idiot," the girl says, rolling her eyes and receiving a half confused, half exasperated look from Shacklebolt…who I guess is her…father?

"I mean, like, this short redhead over here just killed _six people? _That's like, really cool, you know? I mean, even You-Know-Who didn't do _that _– maybe she'll become the next You-Know-Who, you never know! And so I want to get a good look at her when she's young so that I can insult her in the future when she's really evil since she'll probably kill me anyway."

I feel very indignant about the girl's speech. And who is she calling 'short'? She's probably the same height as me, if not shorter.

"So, like, anyway, I just wanted to sit around here or something, 'cause like, yeah," she finishes, curling a tangled lock of hair around her finger.

The chamber is filled with both awkward silences and Shacklebolt's sighs, until McGonagall breaks it.

"Mr Shacklebolt, do hurry up with the trial," she snaps, and Shacklebolt raises his hand and nods.

"To continue, the defendant –"

"So this means I can stay?"

"Avery Candice Shacklebolt, would you _please _shut up? Please?" Shacklebolt sighs, exasperatedly. The girl, Avery, puffs up her cheeks in a sort of mildly angry way, then chooses a seat next to a rather fat, pudgy old woman in the front row.

"So, then, once again, I say that the defendant…" Shacklebolt continues in a more commanding tone, and the crowd of old people eventually overcome their shock. I still haven't, though, since I am kind of intrigued by this Avery…she appears to bear absolutely no resemblance to Shacklebolt besides her last name.

Other than Avery, the trial is really quite boring and uneventful. It's just a bunch of old people and McGonagall, who I guess is an old person too, randomly standing up and speaking some words. _After all, this isn't a book, so it's not like everything has to be exciting, because after all there's no readers._

"Well that's dumb," says Avery, and I notice that she's actually been paying attention to the trial. "You're giving a Muggle a twelve year sentence in Azkaban without even explaining anything to her? She's a _Muggle, _Daddy, she didn't know what she was doing. I think that does clash with the Wizard's Law book – turn to page fourteen, rule number eighteen."

I blink. I just got a 12 year sentence in Azkaban? I don't remember him say anything like that. Not that I'd really noticed anything he'd said.

And what's more is that this little girl knows the Law book? Wow. Didn't see that coming.

There's a quiet rustling of pages and I notice a bunch of people raising their eyebrows and muttering something under their breath.

"I-I suppose you're correct," a few old people say in a surprised tone, staring at Avery with wide eyes.

"And you've also claimed she's broken rule number thirty-two, but you didn't give it enough thought – that rule is of neutral standing," she continues, receiving even more shock from both me and the old people.

"So in my understanding, because rule number thirty-two hasn't been broken and she has rule number eighteen in her favour, her punishment wouldn't be those 12 years in Azkaban – and also, you're forgetting the iron-clad rule that Muggles with no magic education cannot go to Azkaban. So the punishment wouldn't be that harsh either way. And you've never mentioned her age – one severe error, Daddy. Age always matters when punishments are involved."

The other people in the chamber all had their mouths hanging open now, including McGonagall and Shacklebolt, who looked especially ruffled.

"You sure, Avery?" he says hesitantly.

"Yes, Daddy, pretty sure, you can check the Law book if you need to."

"Now, Avery, I seriously think you should check again," he says again.

"But you're the one who needs to check the book to confirm my thoughts."

"Avery, I-I'm not quite sure –" Shacklebolt begins, only to be interrupted by a now very annoyed and angry Avery.

"Well I sure as hell am, Daddy, and you go and check that bloody book _right bloody now _and then you tell me what you think!" she snapped harshly at him, and her father flinches and looks at her sulkily as he brings out the book. He flips a few pages, and everyone is silent.

Shacklebolt scans the book and he flips a page back, then another, then another, and then just stares at an entry which I can't see. He then slams the book shut and puts his hands to head and rubs his temples.

"You are correct, Avery," he mutters, but that mutter echoes through the chamber so we can all hear it anyway. Shacklebolt then turns to look at me, and I gulp down my hysteria.

"Your sentence has been considerably lightened," he says in a monotonous voice similar to that of my homeroom teacher, Mr Reed. I realize that it's only been a few hours since then, which is surprising considering everything that's happened.

"Your punishment is…will be…ah, god. Avery? Ideas?" he says in a defeated tone.

Avery's face is blank as she searches for ideas.

"You…" she begins slowly. "You will have your wand snapped in – wait, no…you…two months in the child's prison thingies you Muggles do? Ah, no…no, that's too weird, under these circumstances…maybe put under constant surveillance for two years? Yeah? That seems right…and after all, you'll probably be going to Hogwarts or Durmstrang or Beauxbatons or maybe even that new Japanese school, Shichiryu."

Shacklebolt strokes his beard, then sighs.

"You shall be put under constant surveillance for three years, Ms Brooks. Court is _closed,_" he says.

The old people are just as bewildered as I am; even though I don't know much about courts or the law, I'm pretty sure it's not meant to end like that. But they all sort of shrug and stand up and hustle out of there.

I stay in the seat, watching as the last of the old people, the fat lady sitting next to Avery, walks out. The chair is warm, but I'm forced to leave it and follow McGonagall.

"So...see you in Hogwarts, I guess, Ms Next-You-Know-Who," Avery says in a teasing tone, and I visibly flinch, causing her to chuckle softly. I didn't notice her.

"You know, there's no point in saying 'You-Know-Who' if I'm supposed to be the person you're talking about. And Voldem...ust Not Be Named is gone now, so why say You-Know-Who anyway?" I retort, then look back and smile. "But yeah. See you in Hogwarts."

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**So? So? So? You like it? I've introduced Avery now, and I hope you like her character. I'm going for a group of 5 or 4 friends right now, and I'll probably need at least two boys in there so as not to be sexist and not to make one boy hang out with three plus girls. Yeah. **

**I'd accept some character info for those remaining 3 characters because I'm lazy and I don't wanna come up with my own. Well, if people want to... TT^TT**

**Reviewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww and maybe follow/favorite.**


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